Homeland Security Committee Told That LAX Shooter Targeted TSA

A Orange County congresswoman said she and other members of the House Homeland Security Committee were told that the only people hit by gunshots at Los Angeles International Airport this morning were TSA employees.

Shooter Paul Ciancia, 23, of Los Angeles did not work for the Transportation Security Administration, though, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said.

Sanchez confirmed that committee members were told the same name of the suspect that had been leaked in various media outlets.

Lawmakers were told “he went in, was armed, stopped at the first initial place” where ID and the boarding pass are checked, and “that’s when he pulled out the weapon.”

“Most likely he was aiming at some of the TSA employees,” Sanchez said on CNN, noting that the TSA were unarmed because “you can imagine if they were armed, as angry as some of these people get.”

“He not only shot and killed a TSA employee but wounded two more TSA,” she added. “We also know that this young man was never a TSA employee.”

Sanchez said they didn’t get too much insight into what the suspect’s motivation may have been. The Democrat didn’t mention other reports that he was carrying anti-government literature.

“Other than fact that at least the person who is dead and two others” are all TSA employees, she said, the motive is still open. “I don’t know if that’s because of the barrier you have to enter…. or whether he was advancing toward TSA employees.”

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement that “the shooter clearly entered the airport with the intent to kill and was quickly brought down.”

“I commend the work of the Transportation Security and law enforcement officers who took immediate action to pursue and subdue the shooter. These officers reportedly underwent training for this type of incident just weeks ago, and their professionalism, expertise and bravery undoubtedly saved many lives,” McCaul said.

“I commend the joint efforts of the numerous law enforcement agencies involved, and I am assured the investigation into how and why this individual carried out this horrendous attack at one of the largest airports in the country will be thorough.”

The one Paul Ciancia on Facebook posted after 4 p.m. Eastern time, “It was not me.”